I feel strongly that what I did about waterproof jackets is the way forward for anyone who doesn't want to buy or can't afford to buy expensive wet weather gear. Based on my own experience of hiking, I believe strongly that rain is far less a problem than we may want to believe it is. When I started hiking I bought an expensive jacket (over £200) and waterproof leggings (£40) because I looked at and read up about it and believed the marketing people, the fantastic photos and the 'experts,' it all made sense.
But as I gained REAL knowledge it no longer made sense! So I had a rethink and eventually made the decision to separate ALL wet weather clothing from ALL of the other clothing I wear. I own some 'expensive clothes' but they are only purchased for dry, windy, cold and hot weather. I now know that I will not buy 'expensive' wet weather clothing again because I now strongly believe that it's not at all necessary! When it rains. all that I want to achieve is to be dry and that is a very easy and cheap problem to solve. I know this because I have done it! I'm always looking for a 'better' jacket and by that, I mean a more lightweight material (I have no problem at all with my jackets design or colour) but as yet I have not found one.
I also readily admit that I like clothing where I can feel that when hiking I 'look good enough' in the hiking fashion sense, but when it's raining, even if I owned the most expensive jacket on earth, I don't care about 'looking good' in any way, I just want to stay dry.